CVE-2026-111889: phpMyFAQ admin dashboard authorization bypass

CVE-2026-111889 · Severity: medium · CVSS 4.3 · Published 2026-10-17

phpMyFAQ is a popular open-source FAQ management system used by businesses to organize and publish knowledge base articles. A missing authorization check on the admin dashboard page allows any user with a regular account to view sensitive data including unpublished FAQ content, admin edit URLs, recent user account details, and site statistics that should be restricted to administrators. This creates information disclosure that can help attackers map the organization's knowledge base and user accounts.

Technologies: Thorsten phpMyFAQ. Vendors: Thorsten.

Quick answers

Is CVE-2026-111889 exploited in the wild?
No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-111889 being exploited in the wild.
How severe is CVE-2026-111889?
Medium severity, with a CVSS score of 4.3, published 17 October 2026.
Which products and versions are affected?
Thorsten phpMyFAQ 4.1.0 before 4.1.9; 4.2.0-alpha before 4.2.0-beta.
Is there a fix for CVE-2026-111889?
Yes: fixed in phpMyFAQ 4.1.9, 4.2.0-beta. Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.
How is CVE-2026-111889 attacked?
It is attacked over the network.
Am I affected by CVE-2026-111889?
Check whether you run Thorsten phpMyFAQ at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

How to fix

  • Fixed in: phpMyFAQ 4.1.9, 4.2.0-beta

Technical details

The vulnerability is a missing authorization check (CWE-862) in the admin dashboard controller. The DashboardController.php only validates that a user is authenticated via userIsAuthenticated(), rather than enforcing role-based permissions via userHasPermission(). This allows any logged-in user to access the /admin/index.php/ endpoint and retrieve unpublished FAQ data (via getInactiveFaqsData()), recent user lists, and statistics that are properly gated on all other admin routes. The attack requires network access and a valid user account.

Affected products

  • Thorsten phpMyFAQ 4.1.0 before 4.1.9; 4.2.0-alpha before 4.2.0-beta

Timeline

  • 2026-10-17: disclosed
  • 2026-10-03: advisory: GitHub Security Advisory GHSA-4378-pcwq-fc29 published

References

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